Workers said that the demands made by more than 800 garment workers at Grand Forest came to an end within a single day. It is learned that workers protested after the factory side made an ownership change and reduced some wage benefits.
“It ended within one day. When the Labour Office came, it was found that there had been a change in ownership. The main demand was that all the benefits given by the previous owner must be provided, and the Labour Office said that,” a worker said.
In addition, it is said that an official from the Labour Office stated that if the original wages and benefits could not be provided, workers must be laid off in accordance with the law with compensation paid.
“Among the 14 points we demanded, there was no demand for a wage increase. It was only to provide the original wages and benefits. When grade pay was cut and the attendance bonus system was changed, workers suffered losses of over 100,000 kyats, which is why this demand happened,” he said.
Workers said that although original benefits were restored during negotiations, wage discrimination could not be resolved.
“Overall, we only got about 60 percent. We couldn’t get it because benefits were differentiated depending on departments, and now workers have returned to work,” a leading worker said.
The Grand Forest International Apparel garment factory is located at the corner of Saya San Road and Sin Phyu Road, Ywarthagyi Industrial Zone, Dagon Seikkan Township, Yangon, and is known to be a Chinese citizen-owned factory employing around 1,200 workers.
